Beijing's new top envoy to Hong Kong said he hoped the protest ravaged city would "return to the right path" as he took up his post on Monday.

Luo Huining replaced Wang Zhimin as head of Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong -- the most significant personnel change by China since violent pro-democracy protests erupted in the city nearly seven months ago.

The 65-year-old Luo delivered a short statement to reporters in Mandarin -- not the city's lingua franca Cantonese.

He gave little clue as to whether Beijing's approach towards the city would change as it convulses with popular anger against mainland rule.

"In the past six months, Hong Kong's situation has made everybody's heart wrench. Everyone earnestly hopes that Hong Kong can return to the right path," Luo said, declining to take questions from reporters.

Millions have come out on the streets since June last year in a wave of protests sparked by opposition to a now-abandoned proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China.

But they soon morphed into wider demands for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability in the starkest challenge to Beijing since the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

While the huge protest marches have been largely peaceful, smaller groups of hardline protesters have repeatedly battled riot police with more than 6,500 arrested.

Luo struck a conciliatory tone in saying Hong Kong had made an "important contribution to (China's) opening up and modernisation".

And in a brief reference to the political violence he quoted President Xi Jinping's New Year speech saying "without a harmonious and stable environment, how can there be a home where people can live and work happily".

The Liaison Office, whose director is the highest-ranking Chinese political official in Hong Kong, was targeted in July by protesters throwing eggs and graffitiing the building.

Luo previously served as governor of Qinghai province, and was also appointed to senior Communist Party positions in Qinghai and Shanxi provinces, according to state-run China Daily.

State broadcaster CCTV announced on Saturday that former director Wang Zhimin had been dismissed from his post.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China detains activists in year-end crackdown
Beijing (AFP) Jan 2, 2020
Over a dozen Chinese lawyers and activists were detained or went missing in the final days of 2019 in a crackdown on participants of a private democracy gathering, rights groups said Thursday. The Chinese government has severely reduced the space for civil liberties since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, rounding up rights lawyers, labour activists and even Marxists students in various sweeps. The latest crackdown was linked to a December gathering in the east coast city of Xiamen in Fuj ... read more